Precious Nakama
by Taoroo
Summary: After the Water 7 and Enis Lobby arcs the crew are shocked by Choppers transformation and find a way to make sure he never endangers himself again. CP fic.


With an almighty crash the Thousand Sunny landed in the ocean, jolting the unprepared sailors off their feet. After fending off the cannon balls thrown by Luffy's grandfather and a tearful reunion with Usopp the crew had raced around inspecting their new ship and were now worn out.

Sanji tested the new galley to its limits, preparing a celebratory feast to welcome their new crewmember Franky and their old crewmember's return. Hours of feasting and merrymaking followed and it was dark outside by the time the party wound down.

The older members of the crew relaxed in the living area by the side of the giant aquarium, enjoying mugs of sake whilst Chopper trotted away to inspect the contents of his medical cupboard and Usopp headed to his room where a laboratory awaited his active mind.

Nami took a deep swig of Sake and sighed heartily. 'It's great having the crew back together.'

Robin smiled, one long finger stoking her cheek. 'Yes, I'm glad I didn't have to miss times like these.'

Luffy's head rested on the table in front of him, his snores rolling out and then drawing back an empty tankard along the table. 'Yay, Nakama,' he murmured.

Sanji swooned over the two women. 'I wouldn't be anywhere else! Mellorine!'

Zoro rolled his eyes and took another deep drink.

Franky laughed, slapping Luffy's sleeping form on the back. 'I joined the right crew. Hey, but you all surprised me, being so strong back at Enis Lobby! You really did things with a DON!'

Nami's face became suddenly serious. 'You weren't the only one who was surprised.' She looked at the rest of the crew. 'I think we need to discuss this.'

Zoro nodded. 'Chopper.'

'Chopper.' Sanji confirmed, his silly fawning over with for now.

'What about him?' Robin asked.

'It was when you and Luffy were with that bastard Spandam,' Nami said, 'but when we were fighting CP9...'

The next morning's breakfast was a quiet affair. Chopper was beginning to worry that the crew was coming down with something, Usopp in particular was looking pretty miserable whilst Luffy's classic smile had been replaced by a contemplative frown.

'What's the matter?' Chopper asked as Sanji began to clear away the dishes. 'It everyone feeling ok?'

Nami cleared her throat and when no one else volunteered to speak she addressed the little doctor. 'Chopper-kun, there's something we wanted to talk to you about.'

'Eh?' Chopper looked around at the faces of his crewmates and saw that whatever it was wasn't going to be good.

'It's about Enis Lobby,' Nami continued, 'and your fight with that long-hair kabuki freak.'

Chopper didn't like where this was going. 'You mean... about the... the monster?'

'Why didn't you tell us about it?' Sanji asked. 'Suddenly this monster appeared out of nowhere, we could have killed you.'

Chopper shook his head. 'I don't know, I never thought I'd have to use it. That man was going to kill me and the second rumble ball failed,' the reindeer's lip began to quiver. 'I was so scared.'

'You were very brave,' Nami said. 'But we saw how much pain you were in, you could have died Chopper.'

'Not only that,' Zoro said, 'but you attacked Franky, and you almost killed Nami and the Ero-cook.'

'Hey!'

Zoro ignored Sanji's protest, fixing Chopper with a stern glare. 'You recklessly used an attack that you couldn't control. You not only endangered your own life but those of your crewmates as well.'

'That's a bit harsh, Zoro!' Usopp said, 'I agree that what he did was reckless but we all do stuff like that all the time!'

'No,' Sanji shook his head. 'There's a difference. We all have powerful attacks that take a lot of strength to control, and sometimes those attacks do weaken us, like Luffy's Third gear. But we've all trained long enough to know our limits and to use our attacks in a way that we know won't be risking anyone's life but our own.'

'It's not just our own lives we're thinking about here, Chopper-kun,' Nami said. 'Using that attack nearly killed you, we don't want you to suffer like that again.'

'But I had to!' Chopper said, tears beginning to leak from the corners of his eyes. 'That man- he was about to kill me, I had to use that rumble ball! I had no choice!'

'And that's why you need to train more,' Zoro said, 'so that next time you will have the choice.'

The little doctor sniffed deeply. 'I let you all down,' he said, a sob rocking his body.

Nami knelt down in front of Chopper and hugged him. 'No, you didn't let us down, Chopper-kun. But you did scare us a lot.'

'And we think that it shouldn't go unpunished,' Zoro finished.

'Punished?' Chopper squeaked.

Luffy nodded emphatically, his eyes closed and his arms folded, mimicking deep thought. 'Yes, if you do something wrong you have to be punished for it.' He paused. 'What did he do wrong again?'

Nami snorted in frustration, whacking their captain on the side of the head. 'We talked about this last night remember? We agreed that Chopper must be punished for what he did,' she turned back to the boy, who was looking at them all in terror. 'We understand that you fought as hard as you could for us back at Enis Lobby but you mustn't ever use that attack again until you've mastered it, do you understand?'

'The last thing we want is to lose another crew member,' Usopp said.

There was a moment's silence whilst the Strawhats thought back to their farewell to Merry and the pain that it had brought them all. The thought of going though that pain again was too much to bear.

'Ugnh,' Chopper sniffed. 'I understand. I'll be more responsible, I promise.'

'We know you will, Doctor-san,' Robin said with a smile that sent Sanji swooning.

'What... what are you going to do?' Chopper stammered.

'That's what we need to discuss,' Nami said. 'Would you please go to your room whilst we decide?'

Chopper nodded wordlessly, tears streaming down his face and practically fled from the galley.

Nami sighed with relief. 'He took that better than I thought.'

'I still don't like it,' Usopp said. 'Aren't we being a little harsh? All he did was try to protect us.'

'When protecting us turns out to be more dangerous than not, then it's a problem,' Sanji said. 'We want Chopper-kun to understand that part of being a Nakama on this ship is to know your limits.

Usopp flushed slightly, knowing more than anyone about limits. He had already vowed to himself that he would get stronger and maybe one day catch up with his older crewmates... well, maybe not to the frightening levels of Sanji and Zoro, but enough to be able to proudly call himself a Strawhat pirate anyway.

'So... what are we going to do?' Nami asked.

This was their problem, after deciding that Chopper should be punished last night no one had come up with any suggestions as to how. They had finally gone to bed to sleep on the matter.

'How about extra duties around the ship?' Sanji suggested.

Nami pursed her lips. 'That's a little too weak. Anyway, Chopper-kun's always so happy to help that anything like that is bound to make him feel better not worse.'

'No food for a whole week!' Luffy said.

'We want to punish him, not kill him!' Sanji said, kicking their captain's head to no effect.

'Then what about taking something away from him, like his textbooks?' Usopp suggested.

Robin shook her head. 'What if one of us falls ill? He'll need those books to heal them.'

'We could keep him in his room then,' Nami said.

Zoro snorted. 'Restrictions? Sensei used to beat our asses if we ever pulled a dangerous stunt like that.'

The throwaway comment hung in the air as a contemplative silence descended. The Strawhat crewmembers looked at one another questioningly.

'It _is_ kinda direct,' Sanji said.

'Always worked for me,' Nami sai. 'You'd never catch me repeating an offence after Bellemere was through with me.'

'Are we seriously suggesting that we _spank_ chopper?' Usopp asked, horrified.

'Oh, come on Usopp-kun, don't tell me you were never once spanked for causing havoc in Syrup village?' Nami asked.

'Every day of my life, but that's kids stuff!'

'Chopper _is_ a kid, Usopp,' Sanji said. 'I know you and Luffy are only a few years older but the rest of us feel responsible for him.'

Luffy was thinking deeply, his arms folded and one sandaled foot tapping the floor. 'Hmm, yeah, spanking sounds about right.'

'I know I'm only a new member of this crew,' Franky said, 'but I agree; Chopper's a good kid but he made a mistake and you guys are like his family.'

'We _are_ his family,' Luffy said simply. 'We're Nakama.'

'So it's decided?' Nami asked.

The crew was unanimous.

'Dont worry, Longnose-kun,' Robin said, putting a comforting arm on Usopp's shoulder. 'This way the punishment is over quickly and we can all move on.'

'But who's going to do the spanking?' Usopp asked.

'I guess I could give it a try,' Zoro said, flexing his arm in a thoughtful way.

'You'd kill him!' Nami and Usopp said in unison.

'Same goes with our idiot captain here,' Sanji said, grabbing a handful of Luffy's cheek and pulling it out. 'You'd probably fire up third gear and send Chopper through the ship.'

'It wouldn't be right, coming from me,' Franky said. 'This is something that needs to be done by someone Raccon-gorilla-kun trusts completely.

'I'm only a weak woman,' Nami said quickly, having no desire to meet the punishment out herself, 'and Usopp is too young.'

'I'll do it,' Robin said, multiple hands sprouting from her forearms.

As Usopp stared at the Devil-fruit user in horror Sanji shook his head. 'This is not a job for a beautiful lady.' He sighed, taking the stub of a cigarette out from between his lips and putting it out on the sole of his shoe. 'I'll do it.'

'Using your precious hands?' Zoro asked, cocking an eyebrow. 'You've changed your tune, Ero-cook.'

'Some things are more precious in life than hands,' Sanji muttered as he stood and left the galley.

Chopper sat on his bed, twisting his hat in his hooves, trying to control the tears that flowed down his face. He'd failed his Nakama, they all hated him now. Why had he been so stupid and used that attack? They'd kick him off the ship for sure, he knew it. He was weak and useless. Chopper wished he'd never even invented the stupid rumble balls!

There was a knock on the door but Chopper was too engrossed in his own misery to hear. After a pause the door opened and Sanji walked in.

'Chopper?'

The little doctor looked up. 'Sanji? I'm s-s-sorry!' he wailed.

Sanji sighed, taking a pack of cigarettes from his jacket and putting one in his mouth. Then he returned his hands to his pockets. 'Chopper, there's nothing to be sorry about. Do you realise why we're punishing you?'

'Because I f-f-failed you all, I got in the way and tried to hurt my n-n-Nakama.'

'Tsk.' Sanji lifted a leg and prodded Chopper in the head with his foot. 'Dumbass, that's not why we're punishing you.'

Chopper sniffled loudly and looked up with watery eyes. 'It's not?'

Sanji shook his head. 'What you did was stupid and dangerous and no more than any of the rest of us would have done in your situation.'

'So wh-h-hy?'

'Because you could have gotten seriously hurt! I saw how you were in that form, you could have died. We want you to know that if you ever use that move again you'll have to face some very big consequences when it's over.'

'Oh,' Chopper bit his bottom lip and stared at the floorboards.

'That's why we've decided to spank you.'

'WHAT?'

'You're still a kid, Chopper, and we want to remind you that your actions have consequences.' Sanji said, coming forwards.

Chopper backed away from the cook. 'I can't believe you'd even think of hurting me, Sanji, aren't we friends?'

Sanji twitched a little smile. He removed his jacket and sat down on the bed next to Chopper. At least the boy's tears had stopped, he thought.

'Let me tell you about my time on the Baratie,' he said, lighting his cigarette and leaning back. 'The shitty geezer Zeff used to give me grief all the time, he was always on my back. I can't remember the number of times he'd whack me for getting a dish wrong or sassing him more than usual. The one that stands out though is one time when I was learning to make Zeff's special curry. He'd told me how to do it but I was so impatient that I didn't listen properly. I thought I'd cooked it pretty well but I was wrong. I didn't realise until Patty told me afterwards, but one of the ingredients was a special plant from South Blue. I'd just thrown the whole thing in, but it turned out the roots of the plant were poisonous; I could have killed someone because I didn't listen.' Sanji twisted his mouth, apparently disgusted at his young self. 'When geezer-Zeff saw what I'd made he knew it wasn't just my inexperience, I'd ignored him and ruined good food in the process.' Sanji took his cigarette from his mouth and blew out a long stream of smoke, chuckling. 'He thrashed the hell out of me; I've never seen him so angry.'

'But why?' Chopper had become engrossed in the story and had shuffled closer to his crewmate to listen, his eyes huge at the tale.

'Well, I wondered that for a long while too,' Sanji admitted. 'I didn't think he cared about me at all but I know now that he was doing it for my sake; so that I'd listen and never put myself in danger again. To this day I can't make a curry without remembering that shitty geezer's lesson and I'm grateful to him for it. He wouldn't have done that if he hadn't loved me.'

'I think I see,' Chopper said. 'But what about your promise? Didn't you say that a cook's hands were his life and they should never be used for anything other than cooking?'

'Pah, a few swats aren't going to damage my hand,' Sanji smiled. 'Besides, when you care about someone then sometimes promises don't mean as much as _they_ do.'

Chopper thought for a while. 'Does that mean...?'

Sanji grinned and pulled Chopper into a one arm hug. 'I love all my Nakama, Dumbass.'

'Even Zoro?'

Sanji sucked in a vicious breath on his cigarette and a vein pulsed in his temple at the thought of the swordsman. 'He's family isn't he? Even that dumb, lazy, good-for nothing, shitty marimo.' He turned to Chopper and his expression was demonic. 'But if you tell anyone I really will cook you, Emergency-food-supply-kun!'

'Sanji, scary!' Chopper said, hiding the wrong way behind the cook's torso.

'Anyway,' Sanji said, returning to the topic. 'That's the reason and that's why I'm here.' Saying this he began to roll up his shirt sleeves and pull out his tie as if about to prepare dinner.

Chopper fixed Sanji with his best sad-puppy stare. 'Sanji-sa-a-an...'

'You're not getting out of this, kid,' Sanji said, though his heart was melting. 'We all love you and we don't want you putting your life in danger like that again. So; do you think you can show the true Mugiwara spirit and face your punishment like a man?'

Chopper slumped, defeated, tears forming once more in his eyes. 'Okay,' he whispered.

Sanji sat further back on the bed and took one of Chopper's arms to guide him over his lap. 'Good. Now, no turning into Guard Point to get out of this, and definitely not Heavy Point, okay?'

Chopper nodded wordlessly, gritting his teeth and sniffing back tears. He gasped as Sanji took a hold of his shorts and pulled them back.

'Your fur is going to give you some protection already,' Sanji said from above him by way of explanation. 'You ready?'

'Uh-huh.' _As I'll ever be_, Chopper thought.

Sanji bit on his cigarette and briefly wondered how he had gotten into this situation before he brought his hand down on Chopper's backside.

'Hnng,' Chopper hissed at the unexpected pain. Being spanked was much different to being punched he realised and wondered if he would be able to cope with it. As the second stinging slap came down he grabbed the fabric of Sanji's trousers and tried to think of anything other than what was happening to him right now.

Unfortunately Sanji had different ideas. He'd thought about how many swats to give the youngster and knew roughly what he was aiming for. The fur covering Chopper's body didn't afford the boy any more protection than a pair of boxers would a human and he could see the skin underneath it already turning pink.

'This punishment is from all of your Nakama,' Sanji said. 'So I'm going to spank you three times from each of us and ten more so you remember in future not to be so reckless with your life.'

Chopper ground his teeth together, already feeling the burn of the first half dozen swats and dreading going through the rest. The tears hadn't taken long to start falling and he knew he wouldn't be able to keep quiet for much longer.

A low swat caught Chopper on the undercurve and made him cry out in shock. After that each blow was followed by a sharp yelp from the boy.

After a while Sanji broke the silence. 'Just the ten to go now, Chopper. You're being very brave.'

This was too much for the poor little reindeer. Huge sobs wracked his body and he began to squirm. 'I'm s-sorry, S-S-Sanji. I'm s-sorry. Please forgive m-m-me!'

Sanji made sure that the last two swats were a little sharper than the rest to leave a reminder for his crewmate if he ever thought of being so reckless in the future.

'That's it, we're done.'

Chopper sobbed deeply and then crawled up the cook until he had his arms wrapped firmly around his neck. 'Sa-a-a-nji-i-i!'

'Heh, there there kid,' Sanji murmured, hugging the boy back. 'You took that like a true Strawhat.'

After a few minutes Chopper had calmed down enough to let go and stood in front of Sanji, sniffing back fresh tears and massaging his stinging backside. Sanji pulled out a fresh cigarette and lit it, flexing his hand ruefully.

'Y'know I take back what I said earlier; making dinner is going to be a little tricky tonight,' he grinned at Chopper. 'How would you like to help me to prepare dinner? It'll give you something to take your mind off of things and you can do it standing up!'

Chopper giggled, wiping his nose roughly. 'I'll help, Sanji-san!' He gave the cook a grin and Sanji knew that he was forgiven for his part in the punishment.

'Good, now why don't we clean up that face and go see the others?'

'Yeah!' Chopper nodded, eager to go see the rest of his Nakama and apologise.

'Chopper!'

When the pair entered the galley the rest of the crew surged forwards to greet them.

Nami wrapped the little doctor up in a hug.

'Are you ok?' Usopp asked nervously.

'Uh-huh,' Chopper nodded.

Luffy scooped Chopper up into a noogie whilst Zoro stood back and laughed.

'You sound like I was killing him,' Sanji said petulantly.

'That idiot didn't hurt you did he?' Nami asked.

'Nami-swa-a-an!' Sanji protested.

'No,' Chopper shook his head, 'and I wanted to say, I'm sorry everyone. I promise to train super hard, and I'll never do something so reckless again!'

Robin smiled. An arm appeared on the reindeer's shoulder and ruffled the boy's hair whilst the rest of the crew laughed along with their doctor.

'Don't forget we're here to help you,' Nami said. 'You just keep training and we'll be here for you if you need us. I'll even find you a nice deserted island to wreak havoc upon!'

'Thank you everyone,' Chopper said, his eyes filling with tears once more. 'Thank you for caring about me so much, you're all my precious Nakama.'

The group laughed again as the little reindeer began to cry, wiping his happy tears away as quickly as they fell.

That evening the crew sat around after a delicious dinner served by Sanji and a very proud Chopper. As Sanji came through to the living area after finishing the washing up Zoro looked up from his sake and fixed the cook with a wicked grin.

'What do you want, shitty Marimo?' Sanji growled.

'So-o... you love me, huh?'

'**CHOPPER!**'


End file.
